


Let it Be

by CherryCheer



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Billy Hargrove Lives, Billy Hargrove Redemption, Character Study?, Gay Billy Hargrove, M/M, except Neil he can choke, neil dies and it improves everyones life, the party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:01:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21943291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryCheer/pseuds/CherryCheer
Summary: Neil died on July 4th, says the cop at the door, there was an accident involving a few drunk men and unattended fireworks at the mall last night, and Neil happened to be one of them. That’s what the cop says.Susan doubts that’s the whole story, the cop at the door shifts uncomfortably like there’s something he’s leaving out. He’s got a nasty cut next to his eye.They talk for a while- he leaves his name and a copy of the police report. And then he leaves. Susan pours herself a glass of wine and stares out the window.She doesn’t feel anything. She supposes it’s shock. She doesn’t think too much about it, just lets it be.Neil is one of the people that the mind flayer absorbed to get bigger, and now that it’s dead, he’s dead as well. Therefore, everyone’s life improves.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper
Comments: 5
Kudos: 165





	Let it Be

Neil died on July 4th, says the cop at the door, there was an accident involving a few drunk men and unattended fireworks at the mall last night, and Neil happened to be one of them. That’s what the cop says.  
Susan doubts that’s the whole story, the cop at the door shifts uncomfortably like there’s something he’s leaving out. He’s got a nasty cut next to his eye.   
They talk for a while- he leaves his name and a copy of the police report. And then he leaves. Susan pours herself a glass of wine and stares out the window.  
She doesn’t feel anything. She supposes it’s shock. She doesn’t think too much about it, just lets it be. 

Max is quiet, says nothing when Susan tells her. She looks tired, like she hasn’t slept for the past few days when she walks in the front door. She’s growing up too fast. She’ll be in high school in the fall, and she’ll be a teenager- she won’t be little anymore. She isn’t little anymore right now, but Susan can ignore that for just a bit longer if she wishes.  
She stands vacantly for a while, then says she’ll be going to bed. Susan lets her go, doesn’t argue, lets her be.   
She sits and drinks another glass of wine. 

Billy is in the hospital, the cop who’s name she now knows is Hopper says they found him in the mall, the only one to survive the accident. He’s in a coma, so they can’t ask him about what happened yet. They can’t talk to him at all, but she and Max go and visit him. Susan figures it’s the right thing to do.   
The room is pale and empty except for her stepson and the beeping of his heart monitor. Max brought a vase of flowers- wildflowers Susan thinks she picked herself. As the doctor reviews his injuries and his current outlook, Max faces away from them, her shoulders doing their best not to shake.

Susan begins to pack up Neil’s things. She donates old shoes, worn out jeans, various junk that he never threw away. She lets Max go through his things, she keeps a few old sweaters and tells Susan to leave the tools in the garage alone- Billy will probably want them when he can come home. Susan brings Neil’s clothes to the hospital. Billy has been awake for about a week now, and she asks him if there’s anything he wants to keep. His hands are shaky as he pulls out out a t-shirt, looks at it, then drops it back in the box. He tells her to just get rid of it all, he doesn’t want it. She nods, reaches out to take his hand. He jerks away from her. She lets it be. When the cop, Hopper, comes in to take his report on the accident, she offers to stay in the room with him, but he tells her to go. She does, lets that be, too. 

A woman, Joyce, comes to the door. She introduces herself, Susan says she knows her from the grocery store in town. Joyce smiles, says she lost her boyfriend last year in a similar accident, and if Susan needs any support, Joyce is willing to be a shoulder to cry on. Susan doesn’t feel like crying, she still doesn’t feel anything in regards to Neil, but she smiles and thanks her, and Joyce hugs her. Her son, Will, and Hopper’s daughter, El, are outside talking to Max as Susan walks Joyce to her car. Max is trying to show Will how stand on her skateboard and it doesn’t seem to be working, but it makes the women both smile, and Max waves to the boy and girl as their car drives away. It relieves an ache in Susan’s chest to know that Max is making friends-she’s been adamant about not bringing them home. She considers asking Max about them, but decides it’s better to let it be.

They visit Billy at least twice a week. He’s getting better, slowly but surely. He’s still attached to a few machines that administer medicine and monitor his heart rate, but the doctors have deemed him fit to start physical therapy, and he progresses quickly, clearly happy to no longer be confined to a hospital bed. Susan thinks their relationship is getting better now that Neil doesn’t stand in the way. She brings him homemade meals when he complains about the hospital food, and Max had brought potted plants when he seemed sad that the bouquet she had brought had wilted. She brings him a quilt that she knows his own mother gave him before she had left. He fingers the worn material and thanks her quietly, doesn’t jerk away when she touches his hand. She supposed that she’s the only adult looking out for him right now, and even if she’s not his mother, she ought to still treat him like her own. When he smiles at her, she smiles back and lets it be. 

Susan visits by herself in early August. Max is back to school shopping with El and Will, and wasn’t home when Susan left. The hallway Billy’s room is in is familiar to her now, and she no longer needs to be walked down by one of the nurses that now all know her and Max due to their frequent visits. Billy’s room’s door is ajar, and she pauses outside when she hears the voice of another person inside with Billy. They speak quietly, too quietly for Susan to understand them, clearly a bit awkward with each other. Billy says something that makes the other voice laugh, and it seems the tension is lifted slightly. The air conditioning in the hall clicks off, and Susan can hear Billy say “...and I’m sorry for everything, Harrington, I really am.”   
And the voice, Harrington, responds “I’m sorry too, man. And if you ever need a friend, if Tommy and Carol haven’t been around, then- then-“  
Billy cuts him off, says “Ok. I’ll keep that in mind.”   
They laugh, quietly, and Harrington mutters an apology, says he has to go pick up people named Dustin and Lucas from the general store, where they’re back to school shopping. Susan supposed they’re probably with Max and her friends. They exchange goodbyes and Harrington tells him to “feel better, man”, before he’s out in hallway, almost bumping into Susan. He’s a lean, pale boy about Billy’s age, with thick, dark hair and warm eyes. He apologizes, flashes her a charming, crooked smile, and then he’s off down the hallway. Susan walks into the room, sees Billy smiling after him. He looks away when he notices her, a blush appearing on his cheeks. She decides not to mention Harrington, let’s him keep that moment to himself. She instead mentions the school year closing in, mentions that the community college nearby is still willing to accept students this late in the summer. He says he’ll think about it. She knows he’d rather go to college back in California, but with his condition, that idea is still rather far away. But it’s an idea he’s working towards, so she lets it be. 

Billy’s able to finally come home midway into August. He’s still a little shaky, and not as strong as he used to be, but the change seems to do him good. His coworker from the pool, Heather, Susan thinks her name is, drops off the application forms for the community college. She says that he ought to fill them out quickly- knows the college will take him, but is never pleased when students enroll this late into the year. He gets the papers back to her the next day.  
He starts working on his Camero, which somehow got damaged in the accident, but she’s still unclear as to how. Max goes out with him, and Susan watches them work from the porch. Billy lets her hold his tools, narrates what he’s doing to her as she watches. Since the accident, he’s been nicer to Max, as if a new bond has formed between them since the Fourth of July. Susan’s curious, but doesn’t ask them about it, doesn’t want to risk ruining their healing relationship, so she brings them lemonade instead, and calls them into dinner a few hours later, and lets it be. 

The school year starts, and the beginning is shaky for all of them. The college is only about half an hour away, so Billy still sleeps at home, but he’s still gone the majority of the day, and brings home loads of homework that he holes up in his room with, or sometimes he’ll go out with the Harrington kid and Heather and their friend, Robin. Max’s first week is tough, with to a new, larger school and new dynamics and new classes. She’ll adjust, though, as she always has, and sometimes she follows Billy into his room just so they can both do those homework in silence but in close proximity. While they still have their savings in the bank, and Neil’s life insurance payout, Susan determines that she needs to find a job, and after talking to Joyce, starts as a cashier in the grocery store around the same time as Billy and Max start school. The fall passes quickly, and she worries about her children, and she lets it be. 

In October, Harrington comes to the house. He has Will and El with him, as well as a curly-haired, talkative boy with him who introduced himself as Dustin Henderson. Max appears in the living room and ushers her friends into her room under the guise of homework. Harrington calls after them to be polite and say please and thank you, and that he’ll be back at 8pm to pick them up and drive them home. He then turns to Susan and asks if Billy is home.   
Susan nods, says “I’ll go get him”, and walks to his room. She knocks, pauses a few seconds, then opens the door. “Your friend Harrington is here- he’s asking to see you.” She tells him. He looks up at her from where he’s curled over his textbook, nods and follows her into the hallway. She pauses and puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him too.   
“He seems like a nice boy,” Susan says “I don’t know him all that well, but he seems nice. I think you could use a friend like him.”   
Billy nods. “I think so, too.”   
She lets her hand drop, and he walks into the living room. Harrington’s face lights up when he sees Billy. “Hey,” he says “Robin and I, and maybe Heather, are going to watch Indiana Jones at my place, do you want to come?”  
“Which one?” Billy asks, he seems a little surprised they’re inviting him.   
Harrington shrugs. “The one with Indiana Jones in it.”  
Billy laughs, then turns to Susan expectantly.  
“Oh, go ahead.” She says, surprised he’s asking for her approval. “Don’t stay out too late.”  
Harrington fixes his smile on her. “I’ll have him home before eight, don’t worry ma’am.”   
Billy scoffs and gives Harrington a little push towards the door, which causes Harrington to laugh more. They leave, and Susan watches them get in Harrington’s car and she watches it pull away. Later, as she begins to assemble the kid’s shoes and bags that they left scattered in the living room, she hears the car pull into the driveway, and watches the pair climb out. She watches them stand close to each other, watches them banter, watches Billy grin when he get Harrington to laugh. When they come in to gather up the kids, she doesn’t say anything about it. She just lets it be.

In late November Joyce asks nervously if Susan can cover her shift that evening because she has a date with Hopper. She blushes as she says it, and looks away. A joy for her friend arises in Susan, and she agrees easily to do so. Joyce fixes her with a bright smile and thanks her. Susan calls Max when she knows she’ll be home from school and tells her that she’ll be home late, and she and Billy can order pizza or something of the like for dinner. Max says thats alright, asks if she could have a few friends over to eat with her and Billy. Worried about deterring her from having friends over if she says no outright, Susan tells her to check with Billy when he gets home. Max agrees and hangs up.   
The shift passes uneventfully, and she closes up around 9pm and drives home. The house glows from light in the kitchen and living room when she arrives, and Harrington’s car is in the driveway. When she enters, she hears several voices laughing and chattering in the dining room. She removes her shoes and places her purse on the couch and walks quietly to the entryway of the dining room. They room is crowded with Max and Billy’s friends, and a few kitchen chairs have been pulled in to make room for everyone at the table. They’re pressed in together, and the table is almost overflowing with food that their friends seem to have brought.   
Harrington notices her first and rises from his place wedged next to Billy. “Hello Ms.Mayfield!” He greets her “let me go get you a chair,” then disappearing into the kitchen.  
“What’s all this?” Susan asks, half laughing, approaching and placing her hand on the top of Max’s chair.   
“We’re having a friends-giving!” Dustin says, clearly excited, from a few seats away “like thanksgiving but with friends instead. Get it?”   
Susan nods. Harrington re-enters with a kitchen chair and puts it between Max and El.  
“Thanks, Steve.” Max says, as she moves her chair to make room for her mother. Billy hands a plate and silverware down the table to her, and Susan, hungry after a long shift, fills her plate.   
She bites into a piece of lasagna that’s clearly meant to replace the turkey and exclaims “This is really good!” which delights the group.  
“Steve made it.” Billy tells her, and turns to look at Harrington- Steve- who’s blushing. And he’s looking with an adoration she recognizes in Joyce and Hopper, and she felt with Max’s father, and with Neil, and knows that Billy doesn’t know it yet, but he’s falling for Steve, and she looks between them, watches them laugh, and decides to let it be.   
The doorbell rings and Will scrambles to let Joyce and Hopper in. “We invited my dad and Joyce, too.” El says quietly next to her “Is that ok?”   
Susan confirms it is, and smiles at the girl, who smiles back, and rises to help find chairs for them. And as they’re finally all seated again, she looks around her table and feels love and happiness take ahold of her. And she thinks of Neil, and that he would never have allowed this. And she recognizes then that she doesn’t miss him, and never had. And recognizes that she loves her children- both of them- and this family she has come to know since his death, and she takes a deep breath, and lets it all be.

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys like this I might make it a series :)


End file.
